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One of the most famous criminal cases in American history was the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., son of the famous aviator. On March 1, 1932, sometime between 8 and 10 p.m., the toddler was snatched from his upstairs nursery at the Lindberghs' still-under-construction retreat home near Hopewell, New Jersey. A note in badly written English was found on the window sill. It demanded $50,000 in ransom for the safe return of the child. A crude homemade ladder was also found leaning against the house. There were few other clues. The case took an odd turn when a 72-year-old good samaritan named John F. Condon took out a newspaper ad volunteering to act as an intermediary to negotiate with the kidnappers. His offer was accepted but neither Lindbergh nor Condon immediately informed the police for fear of putting the child's life in danger. Eventually the money--much of it in rare gold certificates--was paid to a man in a cemetery but the child was not returned. Shortly afterward a child's body was found in a wooded area not far from the Lindbergh home. It was badly decomposed and was identified as the Lindbergh child based on a slight deformity on its right foot. The child had died from a severe skull fracture. Eventually Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a German immigrant with a criminal record in his homeland, was tracked down for spending one of the gold certificates at a gas station. About $15,000 in ransom money was found in his house. Planks from his garage matched the wood used to make the crude ladder. Hauptmann proclaimed his innocence, claiming he was only holding the money for a man named Isador Fisch who had returned to Germany and died there. Hauptmann said he only began spending the money after learning of Fisch's death. Hauptmann was tried, found guilty, and executed in 1936. There is little doubt that Hauptmann was somehow connected with the kidnapping, but there are lingering suspicions that he was assisted by someone who knew the routine and the goings-on at the Lindbergh household. The Lindberghs were not even supposed to be at their Hopewell home on the night of the kidnapping. The kidnapper(s) also had to know precisely when and where the boy would be left unattended. Tags:LindberghkidnappingAdded: 14th December 2007Views: 1440Rating:Posted By:Lava1964

Wow, this has got to be one of his best songs, sad, but beautiful. Clapton wrote this in 1991, after the death of his four-year-old son, Conor, who fell from a 53rd-story window in his mother's New York City condominium. By all accounts, the death was simply a tragic accident, and Clapton was distraught for months afterwards. Tags:tearsinheavenericclaptonwilljenningsAdded: 9th January 2008Views: 1809Rating:Posted By:Naomi

Jerry Mathers, the iconic sitcom child from Leave It To Beaver, became the subject of an urban myth in 1969 when it was falsely reported that he had been killed in Vietnam. Mathers served in the Air National Guard but never left the United States. Apparently an American soldier with a similar name had been reported killed in action. Several news agencies wrongly reported that Beaver Cleaver had died in Vietnam. The inaccurate story got even more publicity when Shelley Winters appeared on The Tonight Show. During a chat with Johnny Carson she expressed sadness about Mathers' supposed demise. Tony Dow, who played Wally on Leave It To Beaver, sent flowers and a condolence note to the Mathers family. It took Mathers a few years to convince the public that he was alive and well. Tags:JerryMathersfalsedeathreportAdded: 24th November 2009Views: 1365Rating:Posted By:Lava1964

An assassination attempt on President Harry Truman occurred on November 1, 1950. It was perpetrated by two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola. It occurred while Truman was residing at Blair House during extensive White House renovations. The attempt resulted in the deaths of White House police officer Leslie Coffelt, and Torresola. Truman was unharmed.
Torresola walked up Pennsylvania Avenue from the west side while his partner, Oscar Collazo, walked up to Capital police officer Donald Birdzell on the steps of Blair House. Approaching Birdzell from behind, Collazo pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the officer's back, and pulled the trigger. Since he had failed to cock it, nothing happened. Collazo managed to fire the weapon just as Birdzell was turning to face him, striking the officer in his right knee. Secret Service agent Floyd Boring and White House police officer Joseph Davidson heard the shot and opened fire on Collazo. Collazo returned fire and soon found himself outgunned as the wounded Birdzell joined the shootout. Soon after, Collazo was struck by two rounds in the head and right arm, while other officers joined the gunfight. Torresola approached a guard booth at the west corner of Blair House where an officer, Private Leslie Coffelt, was sitting inside. Torresola quickly pivoted from left to right around the opening of the booth. Coffelt was taken completely by surprise. Torresola fired four shots from his Luger at close range. Three shots struck Coffelt in the chest and abdomen, a fourth went through his tunic. Coffelt slumped in his chair, mortally wounded.
Torresola turned his attention to plainclothes White House policeman Joseph Downs. Downs, who had just chatted with Coffelt, proceeded down the walkway to the basement door at the west end of the Blair-Lee house when he heard shots. Downs noticed Torresola, but he was shot in the hip before he could draw his weapon. Downs turned back towards the house, and was shot twice more by Torresola, once in the back and once in the neck. Downs staggered to the basement door, opened it, slid in, and then slammed the door behind him, denying Torresola entry into Blair House.
Torresola turned his attention to the shoot-out between his partner, Collazo, and several other law enforcement officers. Torresola saw wounded policeman Donald Birdzell aiming at Collazo from the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue. Torresola aimed and shot Birdzell in the left knee from a distance of approximately 40 feet. Now shot in both knees, Birdzell was effectively incapacitated. (He would later recover.) Soon after, the severely wounded Collazo was hit in the chest by a ricochet shot from Davidson and was incapacitated too.
Torresola stood to the immediate left of Blair House steps while he reloaded. At the same time, Truman, who had been napping in his second-floor bedroom, was awoken by the gunfire. Truman went to his bedroom window, opened it, and looked outside. From where he stood reloading, Torresola was 31 feet away from that window. It is unknown whether either man saw the other.
At the same time, the wounded Coffelt staggered out of his guard booth, leaned against it, and aimed his revolver at Torresola, who was approximately 30 feet away. Coffelt fired, hitting Torresola two inches above the ear, killing him instantly. Coffelt himself died four hours later.
Officer Coffelt's widow, Cressie E. Coffelt, was asked by the President and the Secretary of State to go to Puerto Rico, where she received condolences from various Puerto Rican leaders and crowds. Mrs. Coffelt always absolved the island's people of blame for the acts of the two gunmen. A plaque at Blair House commemorates Coffelt's sacrifice and heroism. The day room for the U.S. Secret Service's Uniformed Division at Blair House is also named for Coffelt. Tags:HarryTrumanassassinationattemptAdded: 21st January 2011Views: 2045Rating:Posted By:Lava1964

A young female streaker, wearing a big smile and little else, pranced across Centre Court moments before the men's 1996 Wimbledon final.
The 23-year-old streaker's name was Melissa Johnson. With her courage bolstered by a few drinks, Johnson climbed over a barrier at one end of the court and dashed the length of its periphery--passing in front of finalists Richard Krajicek and MaliVai Washington as they posed near the net for pre-match photographs.
Johnson, who had been working at a Wimbledon pizza stand, wore only a tiny maid's apron. She was quickly escorted off the court near the Royal Box by two policemen.
Both players broke into laughter, as did most of the 14,000 fans.
Washington paused a moment and then doubled over trying to contain his laughter. Walking back to the baseline to begin his warmup, the American lifted up his tennis shirt to bare his own chest and received a large ovation.
"I look over and I see this streaker ..." said Washington, who lost to Krajicek in straight sets. "Gee, she smiles at me. She had on an apron. She lifted it up and she was still smiling at me. I got flustered, and three sets later I was gone. ... That was pretty funny."
Johnson was taken to Wimbledon police station where she was held until the end of the match. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said "no further action" would be taken.
Usually stiff and proper, the All England Club was unexpectedly light-hearted regarding the moment.
"Whilst we do not wish to condone the practice, it did at least provide some light amusement for our loyal and patient supporters, who have had a trying time during the recent bad weather," a club statement said.
A Centre Court spectator, 57-year-old travel agent Peter Goord, said Johnson's streak even drew a humorous reaction from the royals in attendance.
"When she got in front of the Royal Box, she lifted it up and showed everything off," Goord said. "The Duke of Kent was laughing like mad. She then ran into the policemen's arms. There was no way she was trying to get away."
Wimbledon officials had expressed concern before the opening of the tournament that a streaker might appear--coaxed on by several of Britain's large bookmakers offering odds on it happening.
Before the tournament, William Hill bookmakers reduced the odds on a streaker interrupting Centre Court play during the final to 4-1. John McEnroe, doing commentary for NBC, apparently approved of the goings-on. "We need a replay from every possible angle!" he excitedly exclaimed. His broadcast partner, the distinguished Dick Enberg, reminded McEnroe that it was "a family show." Replied McEnroe, "My family would love it!!!"
Tags:tennisWimbledonstreakerAdded: 30th March 2012Views: 20641Rating:Posted By:Lava1964

This is a group shot of the main players from the Our Gang comedies, circa 1926. From left to right are Joe Cobb, Mickey Daniels, Jackie Condon, Mary Kornman, Johnny Downs, and Jay R. Smith.
The photograph was taken to promote the Western Weld Patch Repair, represented by the ball on which Mary Kornman is sitting. The man standing behind the Our Gang kids is Clarence E. Dunlop, president of Western States Manufacturing Company of Sioux City, IA. The ball was made to demostrate the company's patching process. You can see the strips of patch rubber running up and down the ball, which is eight feet in circumference. The ball was made from nine old tubes and Western Weld patches. The photograph was issued to dealers of Western States' products.
The ball was first publicly shown at the Orange County Fair, with the Our Gang kids making a public appearance to promote the product.
The photograph was taken on the lawn directly behind the Hal Roach Studios administration building, which you can see on the left. The big brick building in the back is one of the two stages that were at the studio at that time. Tags:OurGangcomediesphotopublicityAdded: 19th May 2012Views: 2384Rating:Posted By:Lava1964

McLean Stevenson's sixth and final sitcom in the space of 15 years was the short-lived ABC show Condo, which aired for four months in 1983. The premise of the show was that James Kirkridge (Stevenson), a middle-aged insurance salesman, was experiencing a gradual reversal in finances. Accordingly, his family had to downgrade their lifestyle so much that he and his wife Kiki (Brooke Alderson) had to sell their rambling, palatial house in the suburbs and downsize. Jesse Rodriguez (Luis Avalos), an upwardly mobile native of the Los Angeles barrio, had recently become a successful owner of a landscaping business, enabling he and his wife Maria (Yvonne Wilder) to trade up to a more upscale neighborhood. Both couples ended up purchasing condominium units right outside a quaint Los Angeles-area fairway, and became each other's not-so-neighborly next-door neighbors. The Kirkridges initially mistook the Rodriguezes as the condo's groundskeepers. When Jesse informed them that he and his clan were in fact owners of the condo next door, weariness and bigotry ensued, mostly from staunch traditionalist James. Kiki, slightly daffy but strong enough to keep James from stepping too much out of line, was a little more accepting of her Hispanic neighbors, but often experienced culture shock causing occasional friction between her and feisty Maria. There was a Romeo-and-Juliet aspect to the show: The older Kirkridge son fell in love with and married the Rodriguez daughter. Condo was rare for its time as it had an animated opening sequence. Disliked by TV critics and viewers alike, Condo was yanked by ABC after just 13 episodes. Marc Price, who played the younger Kirkridge son, moved on to play Skippy Handelman, the Keatons' awkward yet lovable next-door-neighbor in Family Ties. Tags:CondoTVsitcomAdded: 21st June 2012Views: 1906Rating:Posted By:Lava1964